Statement from Mayor Carlos A. Gimenez regarding the Commission's approval of a land sale to Miami Beckham United

MIAMI (June
06, 2017) —

After three years of hard work, I am proud that the Board of County Commissioners has approved the sale of 2.8 acres of Miami-Dade County-owned land to Miami Properties, LLC. The group representing David Beckham agreed to buy the land at its appraised value and, if it receives approval from the city of Miami, the property will be the future site of a Major League Soccer (MLS) stadium.

The process was lengthy, difficult, but necessary in order to ensure that Miami-Dade County taxpayers were properly compensated. The funds from the $9,015,000.00 purchase will be for the Water and Sewer Department (WASD), which currently owns the parcel of land.

I firmly believe that the sale of this property, as well as the subsequent soccer stadium, will leave a lasting positive impact on the community.

I can also assure the residents of Miami-Dade County -- particularly residents of Overtown and Spring Garden -- that this is unlike any previous agreement. The purchasing company will use private funds to build the proposed stadium and will guarantee at least 50 permanent jobs for our community.

Although entering into an agreement with the County today is a major step, the Beckham group will need to take further action before the contract is binding and construction on the land can begin, including working with the city of Miami.

This has been a collaborative process that included five public meetings with Overtown and Spring Garden residents and we will continue to work together to deliver to our 2.7 million residents and the millions who visit our community a world-class stadium.

Miami already has championship-winning teams, such as the Miami Heat, Miami Dolphins, and Miami Marlins. We look forward to one day soon adding our future MLS franchise to the list.

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